How to Take a Good Care of Your Liver

The busiest organ in the human body is the liver. Located deep below the right-sided arch, it performs more than 300 functions. The ancient Greeks said that the center of the human soul is right there because it is well hidden. It weighs about a kilogram, and after the skin is the biggest organ without which life is impossible. wants to share with you some valuable information on liver and liver disease.

The liver has the task of processing all the food we bring into our bodies. At the same time, detoxifies the harmful products that are ejected through the urine and the stool. It is the main filter for bacteria naturally found in the intestines, but also everything else that enter the body, including medicines. It is most engaged when we enter antibiotics, and other medications. It is also subject to toxins such as pesticides, food and water pollutants with which the organism comes into contact. It also performs detoxification of alcohol and tobacco coming through the bloodstream. It synthesizes most of the protein in the blood and thus regulates the level of sugar and creates energy for the work of other organs. All important metabolic processes take place in the liver. It produces cholesterol, but it comes through the blood, and it is eliminated through the breathing.

How is the liver regenerated?

It’s the only organ that can regenerate. Even if, for some reason, three quarters of it are destroyed, it is able to take over all the functions and perform them completely normally. In addition, this last part has the power to regenerate and completely restore its original state. This restoration takes between four and six weeks. That’s why it is perfect for transplantation, because only one part can be transplanted, so that everything is completely replaced.

Avoid eating fried food
If the liver takes large amounts of fat and processed foods, or fast foods such as fried potatoes, donuts, chips and similar products that will have a toxic effect on the liver. The same applies to spicy, fried, canned foods. The materials from this prepared food damage the liver cell membranes, penetrate into it, and continue to develop harmful processes. Healthy fats can be found in cold-seasoned oils, most preferably olive and pumpkin seeds. The liver should not be burdened with alcohol and carbonated drinks, while in moderate amounts have a positive effect on the work of this organ and protects against cancer. In fact, one should be moderate in both food and drink, avoiding stressful situations. Eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as any overeating causes the weakness of the organism, which is due to problems with the liver, because it is unable to process this amount of food. Make sure you take a proper care of your liver by eating healthy food such as vegetables and fruits and avoid drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.


Circular reasoning

Normal is regular. Average. Medium.

Normal is safe, familiar, warm and comfortable.

Normal is the thing you know.

It is what is.

But normal isn’t great.

Normal isn’t fantastic.

Normal can never be amazing.

These words from the Mini “Not Normal” Campaign summarize the paradox of normal. On the one hand, most people want to be considered normal; no-one wants to be thought of as abnormal. However, we don’t want to be thought of as only normal. We’d like to believe that we are unique, special, and different than everyone else, that is, not normal.

Normal is the most common thing that people are or the way most people act under a given set of circumstances. Because normal applies to most people, most people are, by definition, normal. It would difficult to have a functioning society if the majority of its people did not behave normally. Such a society would be in chaos, as everyone pushed the boundaries of normal behaviour.

However, society also requires a few people to not be normal. The great leaders, innovators, thinkers and agitators who push the world forward and change it for the better are not normal. Einstein, Michelangelo, Picasso, Freud, and Steve Jobs were exceptional, refused to accept the normal world they were born into (the status quo) and fought hard to change it. It is only after their accomplishments become well known and accepted that these individuals became part of the new normal.

Because normal applies to the mind, it’s a major component of psychiatry. People who act or think in an abnormal way, especially if it can cause them or others harm, should receive treatment. A desire to eat candies is normal, but a desire to eat several kilograms of candies a day is not. However, there is a sad history of labeling people abnormal or deviant who were simply different than others. There’s only a two letter difference between sane and insane, but in those two little letters lies all the difference.

Normal has a shape. Some shopping malls have large circular sculptures hanging from their ceilings. The reason for this is psychological. The malls are carefully designed to signify they are a safe and comfortable environment. When shoppers see circles, they see safety, because a circle has no sharp edges. People who feel safe and comfortable are more likely to have a longer shopping experience.

A sphere is a three-dimensional circle. Bubbles form naturally into spheres because it’s the smallest shape required to hold the air inside the soap film. Planets are spherical, because when they form, they are extremely hot, making the planet fluid; the planet eventually succumbs to the gravitational pull from its center. The best way to get the planet’s mass to the centre is to form a sphere – it is nature’s “laziest” shape.

Roundness, therefore, is a physical manifestation of normal. But there’s another subtler link between roundness and normal.

One way of measuring normal is to plot the values of something on a graph. For example, if you plot the ages, weights or heights of people, they would follow a pattern that looks like this:

This shape is called a normal distribution or bell curve. It’s a visual representation of what is normal. There’s a formula that represents this normal distribution. It’s a complex one but here it is:

At the bottom portion of this formula near the centre, you’ll see the number π (pi). If you remember your high school math, pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, approximately 3.14. That is, at level of mathematics, there’s a connection between circles and how things are normally distributed.

Perhaps that is why so many things that we find normal are round, from the rings on our fingers, to the wheels we move on, the dishes we eat off and the buttons we press and dress with. It is why normal people are called “well rounded”.

Nature has methodically programmed into our world the desire for normal through this shape. Even the body parts we use to perceive roundness: the eye’s cornea, pupil, lens and retina, are themselves round. And we see it all while standing on the Earth, the largest, roundest shape of all.


JL, SM & CECILIA @Nieuwe instituut Rotterdam

Janthinobacterium Lividum, Serratia Marcenscens and Cecilia Raspanti started at TextileLab Amsterdam - Waag and explore together dyeing with bacteria as an alternative.

Designers have been inspired by nature for centuries, mainly focusing on its aesthetics and functionalities. Today, technology allows us all to explore and observe micro mechanisms showing how bacteria function and perform activities.

This collaboration project is a research exploration of how we can not only learn and imitate, but also collaborate with microorganisms. Choosing to collaborate with these bacteria also means to learn from their behaviour, needs and reactions, but also teaches us how to work in an open, transparent and inclusive manner.

The bacterial studio and bioshades project was presented in the context of Biotopia, one of the 4 sections of the exhibition.

  1. bacteria dyes research studio
  2. bacterial pigments archive - JL, SM, ML, MR
  3. bacterial dyed panel - silk chiffon 250 cm x 150 cm

image credits: Het Nieuwe Instituut


Who needs to comply with HIPAA? Advantages and Limitations| Hideez

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was developed as an industry standard to ensure strong protection of personal healthcare information (PHI). Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulates HIPAA compliance, and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces it.

If you have ever asked yourself, Do I need to be HIPAA compliant? — you will find the answer below.

Who needs to comply with HIPAA?

HIPAA applies to the following covered entities: a health plan, a health care clearinghouse, and a health care provider who transmits any health information in electronic form.

  • Health plans include HMOs, company health plans, health maintenance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, CHAMPUS. To be covered by HIPAA, a group health plan, by definition, should have 50+ participants or be administered by an entity other than the employer who established and maintains the plan. Even employers and schools need to be HIPAA compliant once they enroll employees and students in health plans.
  • A health care clearinghouse means an entity that processes or facilitates the processing of health data into the industry-standard form. In practice, it includes billing services and community health management information systems.
  • HIPAA defines a health care provider as an individual or organization that provides medical or other health services. A wide range of specialists from surgeons to podiatrists fits this description. Who else needs to be HIPAA compliant as a health care provider? Hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, pharmacies, and more.

In 2013 HIPAA Omnibus Rule expanded the privacy and security regulations to business associates of the covered entities described above. Any vendor or subcontractor who accesses personal health information (PHI) automatically becomes liable for HIPAA compliance. Examples of business associates include data processing firms, medical equipment service companies, data storage and/or shredding companies, lawyers, consultants, etc.

What is HIPAA Compliance?

HIPAA compliance is a systematic approach that ensures confidentiality, integrity, and availability of medical data. A set of measures includes self-audits, remediation plans, policies, procedures, employee training, incident management, and more. A detailed HIPAA compliance checklist can be found on our blog soon.

There are several HIPAA compliance software and hardware solutions for healthcare. Hideez offers innovative identity and access management solution. Centralized credential provisioning allows you to manage digital and physical access efficiently, immediately off-board employees, set up multi-factor authentication that provides stronger security without extra effort. How? Hideez Key is a token that locally encrypts and stores passwords, allowing users to access data they need by pressing a button. Employees cannot view the passwords and thus — cannot disclose them. Hideez HIPAA solution protects against one of the most common security threats in the healthcare industry — phishing. With the Hideez Key users are unable to use their credentials on a fake page.

How we can recognize a fake page? Set a Demo Call>>

The Hideez Key offers a smart lock feature for users. Powered by Bluetooth, it automatically locks a computer when a user walks away. Such a proximity lock prevents unintentional disclosure of sensitive information. It is particularly helpful in workplaces with multiple shared computers, like hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other covered entities.

The advantages of HIPAA compliance

The number one benefit of being compliant is risk mitigation. HIPAA sets best practices for handling sensitive patient data. Achieving HIPAA compliance means a company has security management systems and protocols in place and is efficient against today's level of risk.

Compliance also means no corrective action is taken against your organization. Under HIPAA penalties for noncompliance include monetary cost, external and internal investigation and overhaul, and in case of severe violation —  imprisonment for up to 10 years.

And finally, proactive protection from data breaches secure patient trust in your organization.

Why is HIPAA Important to Healthcare?

An organization or individual, who has to comply with HIPAA, may consider the regulation challenging and pointless. However, it protects the medical information (one of the most targeted data on the black market) by setting an industry-wide standard for the storage, access, maintenance, and transmission of PHI. HIPAA reduces the risks of abuse and fraud in healthcare.

By complying with HIPAA, you ensure that clients’ medical data is kept private. It builds trust and reputation for your organization. Once there is a data leak, this trust and, thus customers, is lost. Prevent financial and reputational losses by introducing HIPAA compliance solutions for your organization. Hideez Enterprise Server for Healthcare makes day-to-day compliance effortless for the end-user.


A Rainbow

Have you ever seen
A rainbow over the mountain?
It is like a crown
Put on its tip

by Rose Marie Juan Austin Click to read full poem

Comments (14)

A symbol of promise that He will come back again and again Giving comfort and beauty Spell-binding write...The imagery you created projects a aura of inexplicable beauty that only dwells in the heart.... made me see rainbow in a deeper perception...To my poem list and 10+++++++
It is amazing how a poet sees things different from what most see. A rainbow like a crown worn, or a ring given by the lover. Beautiful, rains, called megha in Sanskrit can be imagined as the lover sending a special ring for Earth, an eager bride, that he showers with his love.
Nice environment, feeling pleasant to read.
Excellent poetry. A very astute comparison between true love and rainbow. Simple and beautiful. Loved it.
Comfort and beauty! Colours in unity; Muse of the Rainbow. Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
Finely crafted imagery...very sweet poem dear friend...///
A spectacular poetic description of a rainbow!
A wonder romantic description of rainbows, imagining it as a crown or an engagement ring are the lovely poetic ideas. Well wrote Rose, a rose among poetesses.
No, I have never seen a rainbow as spoken of in this lovely poem. I love rainbows and you poetic vision of them enlarged mine and gave me an unforgettable vision of love and beauty in nature's arms. See, what excellent poetry can do. Thank you, dear Rose Marie.
What a beautiful poem po :) keep it up
A symbol of promise......great piece. Thank u, dear poetess.anjandev roy.
A symbol of promise that/He will come back again and again/Giving comfort and beauty.......powerful imagination! A wonderful poem so beautifully penned................10
An excellent expression, dear ate Rose....10++++
Great imagery and imagination. I have seen double rainbows.


Free download. Book file PDF easily for everyone and every device. You can download and read online RESURRECT AND RESTORE file PDF Book only if you are registered here. And also you can download or read online all Book PDF file that related with RESURRECT AND RESTORE book. Happy reading RESURRECT AND RESTORE Bookeveryone. Download file Free Book PDF RESURRECT AND RESTORE at Complete PDF Library. This Book have some digital formats such us :paperbook, ebook, kindle, epub, fb2 and another formats. Here is The CompletePDF Book Library. It's free to register here to get Book file PDF RESURRECT AND RESTORE Pocket Guide.

Tips & Tricks to Resurrect Your Dead iPhone

When restoring layouts, i3's built-in ability layout restoring functionality is used. This creates placeholder windows where each one will "swallow" any new window that matches specified criteria window class, instance, title etc. This is necessary for matching by window title because the title must match when the window first appears and programs usually only update the title after the window is created see here for more details.

This project originated as a mixture of hacked together Python and bash scripts that I wrote in order to be able to quickly save and load workspaces on the fly. I hate having to reboot my computer because it disrupts everything I have open which tends to be a lot. To cope with this problem, I try to make it as easy as possible for myself to get everything back to its pre-reboot state. I quickly found out about the i3-save-tree utility and i3's append-layout command, but these weren't much use to me on their own, as you are expected to customise a layout manually after saving it and relaunch all your programs manually when you restore the layout.

My solution was to create a script that would extract just the bits from i3-save-tree that are needed, and use the i3ipc , wmctrl , and psutil Python libraries to obtain the commands necessary to launch the programs in a saved workspace.

Since I decided to release this publicly, I have improved the standard of the code a great deal and gotten rid of the hacky bash parts. The code is all Python now, and i3-save-tree is no longer needed as I have reimplemented it in Python. When matching windows by title, the programs must be restored before the layout, because the title often won't match when the window first appears.

When restoring a layout, i3-resurrect uses xdotool to unmap and remap every window on the workspace which causes i3 to see them as new windows so they will be swallowed by the placeholder windows. A default config file will be created when you first run i3-resurrect. In the case of a window where the process cmdline is not the same as the command you must run to launch that program, you can add an explicit window command mapping in the config file. For example, gnome-terminal's process is gnome-terminal-server, but we need to launch it with the command gnome-terminal.

To get this working, you would put the following in your config file:. In this scenario, you could create one rule that by default maps the application's window class to have no command, and another that sets the command if it also matches a certain title:. For terminal emulator windows, we must get the working directory from the first subprocess usually this will be your shell instead of the window's root process the terminal emulator.

For example, if you use both Alacritty and gnome-terminal and you want their working directories to be restored correctly, you would put the following in your config file:. Some examples are included in the default config.

  • Zellias Blade?
  • De-extinction?
  • Camelot Tactician;
  • Navigation menu.

If you would like me to add more command mappings or terminals to the default config, please open an issue for it. It is also possible to configure swallow criteria on a per window basis, which will override the criteria set by the --swallow command line parameter. We use SemVer for versioning. For the versions available, see the tags on this repository.

See also the list of contributors who participated in this project.

Are We Close To Resurrecting The Dead? Scientists Revive Brain Cell Activities In Dead Pigs

For those interested, other excellent software I use to get things up and running quickly includes:. Sep 10, Aug 5, Jul 20, Jul 13, Jul 9, Jul 8, Jul 6, Download the file for your platform. A natural process of de-extinction is iterative evolution. An example of a species where this process occurred is the White-throated rail. This flightless bird became extinct approximately , years ago due to an unknown major event that caused sea levels to rise which ultimately resulted in the demise of the species.

The species reappeared about , years ago when sea levels dropped, allowing the bird to evolve once again as a flightless species on the island of Aldabra where it is found to the present day. Opponents of de-extinction have claimed that efforts and resources used to resurrect extinct species could have been better used trying to conserve endangered species that might themselves become extinct. In some cases, the negative impacts on extant species could be highly direct.

For instance, it is proposed that the Asian elephant would act as a surrogate mother for the woolly mammoth embryo. It has also been noted that a resurrected species, while being genetically the same as previously living specimens, will not have the same behaviour as its predecessors.

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The first animal to be brought back will be raised by parents of a different species the fetus's host , not the one that died out and thus have differing mothering techniques and other behaviors. Other scholars have published ethical concerns regarding de-extinction. In Conservation Biology , Robert Sandler argues that introducing extinct species to environments may produce harm to modern species, as invasive species.

Issues regarding scientific hubris, human and animal health, and the ecology of sensitive environments have been raised by the scientific community. Further research must be performed regarding de-extinction to investigate advantages and disadvantages to the technology. New technological practices must be examined to prevent environmental hazards. Counter arguments have been made, however, in regards to the benefits of bringing back extinct species. Harvard geneticist, George Church , gives an example of the positive effects of bringing back the extinct woolly mammoth would have on the environment.

He explains that if the newly developed mammoth hybrids were to be placed in areas such as Siberia and Alaska, the outcome may reverse the damage that global warming has caused. If the theories are proven true, global warming could eventually be lessened. Scientific American , in an editorial condemning de-extinction, pointed out that the technologies involved could have secondary applications, specifically to help species on the verge of extinction regain their genetic diversity , for example the black-footed ferret or the northern white rhinoceros.

It noted, however, that such research "should be conducted under the mantle of preserving modern biodiversity rather than conjuring extinct species from the grave. It's been argued that revived species can be utilised as a tool to support other conservation initiatives by acting as a " flagship species " - a charismatic organism that generates popular support and funds for conserving entire ecosystems.

Similarly, the conservationist Josh Donlan claims that if the passenger pigeon were resurrected, there would inevitably be a legal impetus for the protection of its habitat under the Endangered Species Act. The existence of preserved soft tissue remains and DNA of woolly mammoths has led to the idea that the species could be recreated by scientific means. Two methods have been proposed to achieve this.

Revive cellphone batteries from Deep Sleep

The cell would then be stimulated into dividing, and inserted back into a female elephant. The resulting calf would have the genes of the woolly mammoth, although its fetal environment would be different. To date, even the most intact mammoths have had little usable DNA because of their conditions of preservation. There is not enough to guide the production of an embryo. The resulting offspring would be an elephant—mammoth hybrid, and the process would have to be repeated so more hybrids could be used in breeding.

After several generations of cross-breeding these hybrids, an almost pure woolly mammoth would be produced. The fact that sperm cells of modern mammals are potent for 15 years at most after deep-freezing is a hindrance to this method. They hope to use similar methods to find usable mammoth DNA. Mammoth expert Adrian Lister questions the ethics of such recreation attempts. In addition to the technical problems, he notes that there is not much habitat left that would be suitable for woolly mammoths. Because the species was gregarious , creating a few specimens would not be ideal.

First Baptist Las Colinas | 6 Steps to Resurrect a Dead Marriage

He also notes that the time and resources required would be enormous, and that the scientific benefits would be unclear; these resources should instead be used to preserve extant elephant species which are endangered. This is currently being done by Harvard geneticist George Church , and they have already successfully made changes in the elephant genome with the genes that gave the woolly mammoth its cold-resistant blood, longer hair, and extra layer of fat.

The Pyrenean ibex was one of four original subspecies of Spanish ibex that roamed on the Iberian peninsula. However, while it was abundant during Medieval times , over-hunting in the 19th and 20th centuries led to its demise. In , only a single female named Celia was left alive in Ordesa National Park. Scientists captured her, took a tissue sample from her ear, collared her, then released her back into the wild, where she lived until she was found dead in , having been crushed by a fallen tree.

In , scientists used the tissue sample to attempt to clone Celia and resurrect the extinct subspecies.


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Paw Pad Protection

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William James: “The Meaning of Truth” (1909), and “Some Problems in Philosophy” (1911)

The great obstacle to radical empiricism in the contemporary mind is the rooted rationalist belief that experience as immediately given is all disjunction and no conjunction, and that to make one world out of this separateness, a higher unifying agency must be there. In the prevalent idealism this agency is represented as the absolute all-witness which “relates” things together by throwing “categories” over them like a net. The most peculiar and unique, perhaps, of all these categories is supposed to be the truth-relation, which connects parts of reality in pairs, making of one of them a knower, and of the other a thing known, yet which is itself contentless experimentally, neither describable, explicable, nor reducible to lower terms, and denotable only by uttering the name “truth.” (826–827)

The Meaning of Truth, by William James, was presented a year before his death as a sequel to his Pragmatism. Unlike some of his earlier books, this one was not a series of joined lectures, but a collection of essays published over the last half decade of his life. If you are reading his philosophical works together as I am, you find that they are really joined around an idea known as “radical empiricism,” which simply rejects the Truth claimed by idealists, but also attacked standard empiricism for basically coming down on the side of Truth (but using a different method to get there). In Pragmatism and A Pluralistic Universe (and Varieties of Religious Experience for that matter), James argues for a rejecting Truth and embracing a variety of truths, none of which can be pragmatically discounted and false. This is, of course, easy enough to prove with aesthetics. You cannot say that my preference for Beethoven over Mozart is reflecting Truth. As I understand it (I am saying this too much perhaps in this series), James would want to apply this same logic to other inquiries.

He talks about how we come to know a phenomenon, like a tiger. Our desire to hunt tigers is one phenomenon. The tiger skins we bring home are another. The tiger itself is yet another. All have a context that works in shaping our cognition. And as consciousness begins in cognition, we need to understand the process and context of our understanding of a phenomenon (“outer chain of physical or mental intermediaries connecting thought and thing”).

James argues that this position is highly humanistic, because it takes account for the diversity of various human perspectives. This seems to be a compelling argument for me as well. It certainly suggests that although human experiences are diverse and pluralistic, there are real reasons to think that humans interact in the world in ways that other creatures do not.

In one chapter, James puts forth a systematic response to all the major criticisms of pragmatism and radical empiricism. He takes them all on, but one that I do not find such a condemnation is the criticism that pragmatism is a “call to action.” It is that I think James’ philosophy demands action rather than thought that made me so attracted to it in the first place. As he clarifies, this criticism is that the philosophy appeals to technocratic types, who care only about applications without meditating on consequences of action. But, as James clarifies, the philosophy actually suggests a wide variety of actions, not the singular action of the technocrat.

To the charge that radical empiricism allows people to belief as truth in things that do not exist, James explains that things that do not have existence cannot have really good results that can be observed. Thus while you cannot get to God’s existence through his method, you can prove the existence of religious experiences. It is the same with historical figures, as he tries to explain with the question of the existence of Caesar. The radical empiricist has visible effects of Caesar’s life, including his books as evidence of his existence. The rationalist will actually have a much more difficult time proving his existence. (Now, perhaps this becomes more complicated with mythology, but I am not so troubled by the fact that people may think that Zeus or even Xena existed. At least I am not more troubled by that than the fact that people believe in God. In either case the existence is less important the experiences and the tangible results.

The book ends with a dialogue between a pragmatist and a non-pragmatist. It is a useful summary of his thought and it comes down to the pragmatist is interested in truth as it is made real in the world through various contexts. I cannot think of a more open-minded and democratic approach to truth without going off the wall into banal and useless relativism. It always us to have a conversation where the other does not assume that they look at the world in the same way as we do.

Part of the power of this perspective on truth is its practicality and flexibility. I cannot help to think that in general terms this is useful for libertarians attempting to construct free spaces in a variety of different cultural areas, each with their own ecology, in both urban and rural areas. It seems it be something that can inoculate such free spaces from being fill in (permanently at least) with bad ideas. Instead of allowing vile thoughts and practices from filling in a space under the guise of “truth.” It will judge ideas based on their results and observable goodness.

So, if you think I am being too easy on James, or misunderstanding his basic point, let me know. If you think rationalism is a better path for a libertarian epistemology, let me know. As my reading of James shows, I am easily convertible.

Continue reading

William James: “A Pluralistic Universe” (1909)

The next in a series of William James’ late career works on radical empiricism is A Pluralistic Universe, another series of lectures published into a book in 1909. Of the works I have read, it is his more direct attack on rationalism and monism. As far as philosophy goes, A Pluralistic Universe, reads a bit like an argument against intellectual absolutism and homogeneity. As such, I am forced to appreciate it. The big problem with rationalism is that is posits a Truth that is external to our own experiences (at least in many cases). If truth is singular and all of us experience the world differently, most of us are then looking at the world falsely or as a delusional. That seems unlikely as a point of fact. (At least this is how I understand the core of his argument, with my soft non-philosophical mind.)

But one as we are in this material sense with the absolute substance, that being only the whole of us, and we only the parts of it, yet in a formal sense something like a pluralism breaks out. When we speak of the absolute we take the one universal known material collectively or integrally; when we speak of its objects, of our finite selves, etc., we take that same identical material distributively and separately. But what is the use of a thing’s being only once if it can be taken twice over, and if being taken in different ways makes different things true of it? (647)

See, there is an added value to looking at the universe pluralistically. We can actually take part in a more rich, playful, and diverse universe.

His most significant attacks on other philosophers come at Hegel. His questioning of Hegel is really an extension of his disapproval of idealism as absolutist. An rationally-determined position conquers and dismisses all other perspectives and eventually all evidence. “All facts lead to him [the idealist].” (688) Here we come to the crux of radical empiricism as I understand it. Idealism finds truth through reason and ideas alone and then (for James at least) voyages into near solipsism. At its most radical, the idealism would be willing to reject all other opinions as false, no matter how they were determined, if they do not fall into “Truth.” The typical empiricist (I suppose most scientists fit into this category) accept “Truth,” but realize that specific findings may be provisional or incomplete. Truth determined through observation, but constantly tests by other findings and observations. The radical empiricist rejects “Truth” finding value in all observations made by others as having truth. Going a bit farther he states that fact can be found in the process by which something is observed and realized needs to be taken into account as well, and those will be highly pluralistic. Each observation is a process, thus ultimately two people will observe the same event with different processes and therefore one cannot be rejected without exposing some absolutist position. I guess in practice this means that a scientist is more right in her observation of some phenomenon than an untrained spiritualist, just because ones process of observation is informed by training and the other by a belief in ghosts.

If philosophy is more a matter of passionate vision than of logic,—and I believe it is, logic only finding reasons for the vision afterwards,—must not such thinness come either from the vision being defective in the disciples, or from their passion, matched with [Gustav Theodor] Fechner’s or with Hegel’s own passion, being as moonlight unto sunlight or as water unto wine.” (710)

So, is the point here that the typical John Locke style empiricist is a variant of idealism in that is does not understand the context of an observation?

Does this leave us with some anti-intellectualism? I suppose a degree of that is inevitable with radical empiricism, but that may not be bad in a highly technological democratic society, where scientists and engineers hold immense powers over our individual lives. Many historians of science have filled in this gap by looking at the context of this or that scientific discovery and showing how they were not the result of pure observation, but influenced by training, disciplinary standards, social expectations, religious values, culture, and much more. In this sense, perhaps James is rightfully questioning “Truth” as determined by thinkers, while also raising the standards of inquiry to include increased not just a finding, but how a finding was determined.

James explicitly states that he thinks his view of a pluralistic universe is more democratic than idealism or other absolutism philosophies. This suggests he was really seeing his ideas as an American alternative to the rationalist traditions of Europe. “The pluralistic world is thus more like a federal republic than like an empire or a kingdom. However much may be collected, however much may report itself as present at any effective centre of consciousness or action, something else is self-governed and absent and unreduced to unity.” (770)

I am not sure how much thought anarchists have given to epistemology, but I am convinced that the place to begin such an investigation would be a thinker like William James. At the very least, I am convinced that there are real conflicts between idealism and a libertarian worldview, but maybe others see it differently.

William James: “Pragmatism” (1906–1907)

William James delivered the lectures that make up the book Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking in late 1906 and early 1907. They build on the conclusions of The Variety of Religious Experiences. Essentially, his perspective on religion was pragmatic and based on observably significant religious experiences. This collection of essays is a more general statement of these principals. It seems to be to be an essentially correct perspective, resting on the idea that what matters as true is what works. And what does not work should be rejected as false. A major reason to accept his position is that “Truth” actually matters little in the world as we experience it, even if it could be determined (which Kant already showed is not really possible).

He starts out by describing the “dilemma in philosophy” as between empiricists and rationalists. He shows his clear preference for the empiricists. He puts it quite nicely in the following. “You want a system that will combine both things, the scientific loyalty to facts and willingness to take account of them, the spirit of adaptation and accommodation, in short, but also the old confidence in human values and the resultant spontaneity, whether of the religious of the romantic type. And this is then your dilemma: you find the two parts of your quaesitum hopelessly separated. You find empiricism with inhumanism and irreligion; or else you find a rationalistic philosophy that indeed may call itself religious, but that keeps out of all definite touch with concrete facts and joys and sorrows.” (495)

He then approaches the basic philosophy of pragmatism, stating that what matters is the concrete consequences of a particular claim. What is so radically powerful about this perspective is that it makes truth (he is indifferent to Truth) “malleable to human needs.” (515) “Pragmatism is willing to take anything, to follow either logic or the senses and to count the humblest and most personal experiences. She will count mystical experiences if they had practical consequences.” (522) This seems to me a democratic, fair-minded, and useful approach.

The rest of the lectures explore different ramifications of this position. One is that categories of substances (whiteness, combustibility, insolubility, etc.) are purely creations of pragmatic humans. This is about as clear a rejection of idealism as I can think of. Of course, that this can be immediately extended to character may be troubling to some. Of course, I am rather sympathetic to the idea that honesty or value or generosity be reflected in human interactions rather than the realm of abstract ideas. This is also James’ defense of free-will. While it may be “Truth” that free-will is an illusion, we act as if we have free-will and that assumption works fairly well in a host of questions in human societies.

He includes in the book a foundational argument to his next major work, The Pluralistic Universe.

Let me attempt a pragmatic defense of anarchism. We certainly could accept an anarchist-communist principle like “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs” on principal, but that is actually the least direct way to get there, and the path most likely to inspire resistance. It is much better to argue (as David Graeber did in a talk I saw) that this principle is essentially how we function in social relationships already. In the simple encounter of asking for direction, this principle is lived. When I ask from directions, I take from someone who owns knowledge freely from someone who is not capable (morally, most of us would agree) of refusing. In the workplace, the same principle usually applies. It would be a pretty inefficient workplace that did not accept at least the “from each according to their abilities” principal. To give a more difficult example, squatters rights (or the principal that ownership should derive from use) is simply a more efficient and just way to distribute housing. To rely on a hard principle of property rights in respect to housing is inefficient (requiring guards, banks, and all sorts of invasive legal proceedings) and unjust (ensuring that people with the need for homes will go without). Also, giving de facto ownership to occupants is basically how we see the world. When we visit a renter at their house, we act as if they were the owner. In every meaningful way that house (perhaps owned by an absentee landlord or a bank) is the moral domain of the one who lives there.

At the same time, it is may be a useful exercise to critique the state or capitalism using pragmatism. People may like in a democracy, while having little actually say over their lives. This actually seems to be empiraclly true for most people. In the same way, anarcho-capitalists may speak of free markets or free exchange, but have no empirical evidence that these exist or can exist. At the same time, pragmatically, we see that we can function without a state.

Well, I am sure a philosopher or a James’ specialist can set me right on this, but I find this a reasonable extension of what he was saying in Pragmatism. Capitalism seems to be an imposition of abstract principles (most significantly property ownership) over a more pragmatic perspective.

William James: “Varieties of Religious Experiences” (1902): Part Two

Those of us who are not personally favored with such specific revelations must stand outside of them altogether and, for the present at least, decide that, since they corroborate incompatible theological doctrines, they neutralize one another and leave no fixed result. If we follow any one of them, or if we follow philosophical theory and embrace monistic pantheism on non-mystical grounds, we do so in the exercise of our individual freedom, and built out our religion in the way most congruous with our personal susceptibilities. (459)

The second half of William James’ The Varieties of Religious Experiences builds on the argument that religion creates experiences that have real results that cannot be so easily discarded as crazy or irrational. This is not so much an argument for the truth of various religious claims. James’ appears to be rather indifferent to this question, focusing more on what can be studied and measures: the religious experiences themselves as their ramifications in the world.

Throughout the second half of the book, which consists of a series of lectures James gave in 1899 and 1900, the focus is on the good acts that religion inspires in people (“saintliness”), the sometimes excessive behavior it inspires, mystical experiences, and religious philosophy. He ends the book with a proposal for a scientific approach to religion.

Starting with “saintliness,” James argues that religion seems to promote clearly positive behavior in people that cannot be accounted for from other sources. (At the very least, individuals claim religions origins for some of these behaviors.) There is something deeply individualistic about James’ approach that I find compelling. Maybe this is something now lacking in some of the discourse on religion. “Every individual soul, in short, like every individual machine or organism, has its own best conditions of efficiency.” (274) I am not a big fan of comparing humans to machines as he does, but I am going to choose to be open-minded that religious experiences can be one of the ways that people can reach “saintliness.”

James confesses in one of the lectures on “saintliness” that there are also a host of negative habits that a religious life and religious devotion can bring, although he seemed to think these are in the minority. However, these need to be looked at as part of the entire package of the mind. Here is another pitfall anti-religious types like me fall into. We assume that some negative characteristic, some hypocrisy, or some bad thought has its origin in what we do not like about another person’s mental universe. James seems to think that these components of someone’s mental universe is just as likely something else. “The baiting of Jews, the hunting of Albigenses and Waldenses, the stoning of Quakers and ducking of Methodsits, the murdering of Mormons and the massacring of Armenians, express much rather that aboriginal human neophobia, that pugnacity of which we all share the vestiges, and that inborn hatred of the alien and the eccentric and non-conforming men as aliens, than they express the positive piety of the various perpetrators.” (308) Well, I do not know about the Hobbessian stuff in there, but I take his point.

To give much more summary may be pointless and I skimmed a fair deal. Toward the end of the book his focus is on religious mysticism and philosophical idealism rooted in religious experiences. The argument seems to me to be the same in both cases. From the individualistic perspective, these experiences are real (“absolutely authoritative”). They also should be taken seriously by outsiders because they are possible paths to truth.

What I think we should take from William James’ The Varieties of Religious Experience is an argument for religious individualism. In this it can be very powerful. It can also be applied more broadly. I just got into a debate on Facebook with some scientists over whether the humanities have anything to teach science and the innovators of technology. Clearly I think people in the humanities do, but they were less certain and took what I was saying as a bit preachy. However, I think there is a value in coming out of our own skin and at least taking the perspective of outsiders seriously enough. At times these opposing ideas really do have little to add to our discussion, or are in the end reactionary or disgusting. But they are products of a mind, and therefore real. For good or for ill, they must be taken seriously.

William James: “Varieties of Religious Experiences” (1902): Part One

Psychologist and philosopher William James delivered the lectures that became The Varieties of Religious Experience in 1899 and 1900.  As I am working on a book on Philip K. Dick, I read this book with great interest. Dick’s religious experiences have become the center of scholarship and have been offered up as the key to understanding his work. I explored Dick’s works earlier in this blog from a more political and sociological point of view. But with James, I can appreciate the attraction that those religious experiences have for readers. James’ central argument in The Varieties of Religious Experience is that religious experiences are historically real in that they seem to happen. What matters is the result of belief, not their origins. This is his pragmatism. James worked on this idea in some of his earlier writings as well (I looked at them before in this blog). For him, what matters in psychology is action when precedes thought and habits. (To be simple, one learns to play the piano by playing the piano, not by thinking about how to play the piano.) In the same way, it may be true that George Fox was crazy, but this does not make Quakerism theologically wrong or even factually untrue. It certainly does not make the good feelings and actions that Quakerism inspires delusional. In short: “Religious happiness is happiness.” (30)

I was raised Lutheran and I recall having religious experiences as defined by James (both the positive and negative aspects he mentions). I no longer have such experiences and am an atheist. But I accept James’ point that there are numerous experiences that I am not having, many feelings I may be missing out on, because of that choice. Is this not true of any lifestyle or intellectual choice one makes?

One important point James makes is that if what really matters is the religious experience rather than truth, religious can be studied scientifically through the regular tools of psychological, biological, and social scientific research. Since James day many—including many atheists—have embraced this approach. The controversial point is here. “To plead the organic causation of a religious state of mind, then, in refutation of its claim to possess superior spiritual value, is quite illogical and arbitrary, unless one have already worked out in advance some psycho-physical theory connection spiritual values in general with determinante sorts of physiological change. Otherwise none of our thoughts and feelings, not even our scientific doctrines, not even out disbeliefs, could retain any values as revelations of the truth, for every one of them without exception flows from the state of their possessor’s body at the time.” (22)

The first three lectures map out his general thesis about the nature of religious experiences, the definition of religion (which he defined quite broadly), its role in creating states of mind that are not “logically deducible from anything else,” and creating positive action in the world. This final point James summarizes under “The Reality of the Unseen.” He borrows from Kant the following idea. “We can act as if there were a God; feel as if we were free; consider Nature as if she were full of special designs; lay plans as if we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our life.” (56) One thing that is noticeable in leftist Internet culture is the willingness to attack thought (because what else can one discuss when we exchange ideas instead of actions) rather than action. I think something that we can learn from American pragmatism is that we should focus less on the thought that leads to good actions than we should focus on actions. In this sense, imagining prefigurative politics is less important than actually tearing down the institutions of power. There is some value when prefiguarative politics is acted out (as in Occupy Wall Street), but it is objectively a failure if it cannot undermine power. This is a bit off of James’ point, but seems to flow from his perspective on religion.

The next two lectures examine “The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness,” which is general are religious belief that seem to creative positive emotions and healthy living in human beings. At this point in the lectures, James moves to giving quite a few case studies of various religious experiences documented in psychological practice and in history. If is of this type. “It is to be hoped that we all have some friend, perhaps more often feminine than masculine, and young than old, whose soul is of this sky-blue tint, whose affinities are rather with flowers and birds and all enchanting innocencies than the dark human passions, who can think no ill of man or God, and in whom religious gladness, being in possession from the outset, needs no deliverance from any antecedent burden.” (79) Well, I can agree that the more religious thought promotes happiness, self-sacrifice, solidarity, and beauty the better. I am less certain it always does so, which brings us to the next set of lectures.

Lectures six and seven are titled “The Sick Soul.” Bad thoughts and bad actions can be as easily derived from religion as the positive “healthy-mindedness.” To the degree religion promotes obsessions on sin, guilt, death, and punishment they promote what James is calling the “sick soul.” Religious melancholy is very real in the world, James points out with several case studies. Significantly, James likens materialism and atheism to promoting the “sick soul.” I am not sure that can be empiraclly sustained now.

In the next three lectures, James looks at the experience of religious conversion. Conversion is yet another religious experience like the positive expressions of religious joy and the religious melancholy. Conversion allows a rapid and dramatic change in a person’s values and perspective on life. The actual role of some spiritual agent is irrelevant to the truthfulness of those experiences and emotions. “It is natural that those who personally have traversed such an experience should carry away a feeling of its being a miracle rather than a natural process. Voices are often heard, lights seen, or visions witnessed; automatic motor phenomenon occur; and it always seems, after the surrender of the personal will, as if an extraneous higher power had flooded in and taken possession.” (211)

I will look at the rest of this book and try to reach some more conclusions in my next post.

William James, “The Will to Believe”

The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy was a collection of James’ lectures on religion and some other issues on philosophy in the later 1890s.  All of these essays have interesting items to teach us and I will first summarize some of his theses as best as I can in a few sentences each before commenting on what I think they can teach us when taken as a ten-course meal.  See my other posts on James in the archives on January 14 and January 15.

“The Will to Believe” (1896): The argument of this essay is that it would be irrational to reject religious beliefs (and for James, experiences) since the validity of these claims and experiences cannot be denied or defended with scientific certainty.  “We have the right to believe at our own risk any hypothesis that is live enough to tempt our will.”  (477)  Now for many, this or that religious belief will be dead and useless.  But when believes can be real, and reinforced with experiences, they should be embraced.  This clearly does not apply to only religious claims.  Indeed, most religious claims are dead for most of us.  For me, it is the goodness of humanity and our potential for solidarity that holds the most power – is the most live – now.  This is a powerful argument and should not be used to justify the indoctrination of “dead” beliefs, but rather a celebration of experiences, ideas, and beliefs, which may in the end be impossible to support with scientific certainty.  But love, friendship, and joy all exist in that realm.

“Is Life Worth Living” (1895): This argument is a corollary to “The Will to Believe” as well as a pragmatic argument against suicide.  Life’s purpose is one of those beliefs that cannot be scientifically justified.  Again, this could be a defense of theistic claims, but I do not see James’ limiting life’s meaning to God’s purpose.  “If this life be not a real fight, in which something is eternally gained for the universe by success, it is not better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will.  But it feels like a real fight – as if there were something really wild in the universe which we, with all our idealities and faithfulness, are needed to redeem.” (502)

“The Sentiment of Rationality” (1880): Although presented long before “The Will to Believe” it is rightfully placed near it in this volume.  There is a poverty to strict rationality.  It of course discounts subjective experiences, such as those of the “more mystical minds.”  Moral questions are clouded by strict rationality or evolutionary logic.  Morality is experienced subjectively and on some level escapes rational consideration.  Furthermore, rationality will never be agreed to by all.  Even two “rational” thinkers will disagree.  Given these facts, forgoing certainty seems a normal part of life and should be accepted as part of our considerations of truth.

“Reflex Action and Theism” (1881): Here, the position James makes is that all philosophical inquiry and our entire psychological mentality are bound by experience.  “Philosophies, whether expressed in sonnets or systems, all must wear this form.  The thinker starts from some experience of the practical world, and asks its meaning.”  He contrasts philosophy with a voyage.  Theism exists in some of these states of consciousnesses, produced most strongly in mystical experiences.

“The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life” (1891) Moral systems cannot be worked out in advance, James suggests.  Instead they are lived and contingent.  (Part of this contingency is the waiting we need to endure until the religious questions are understood.  Until, for instance, we know there is or is not an afterlife, or know that the Ten Commandments are or are not God’s will, we cannot really have a clear answer to all moral questions.)  Given this, particularly the impossibility of perfect clarity on ethical questions he states: “It is not in heaven, neither is it beyond the sea; but the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” (617)

“Great Men and Their Environment” (1880): This essay attempts to find some common ground between evolutionary environmentalism (slow change) and the rather rapid historical change we experience.  As I understand it, James is positing a evolutionary theory of greatness in respect to historical times.  Some mentalities, ideas, and geniuses are adapted to certain times producing greatness.  “The mutations of societies, them, from generations to generation, are in the main due directly or indirectly to the acts or the examples of individuals whose genius was so adapted to the receptivities of the moment, or whose accidental position of authority was so critical that they became ferments, initiators of movement, setters of precedent or fashion, cenetres of corruption, or destroyers of other persons, whose grist, had they had a free play, would have led society in another direction.” (626)

These are the essays that I find most apt for our purposes.  Without exception these essays promote an active engagement with the world as individuals, as moral agents, and as believers.  At criticism is the strict intellectualism.  In this sentiment I find much common ground with James.  For your use, here is Wolfi Landstreicher (Against the Logic of Submission) on that same question.

I think it would be limiting to look at James’ The Will to Believe purely through the lens of religious dogmas.  James often identifies other attitudes (pessimism, optimism, morality) as fundamentally religious because they cannot be scientifically determined.  While I would not use that phrase because of my personal relationship with religions and its evolution over the years, I find it often necessary to take a “Leap of Faith” in many of parts of life.  Revolutionaries need no small amount of faith in order to act.  And action itself, reinforces our belief in the visions we make real.
The remainder of this volume of James’ earlier writings includes his “Talks to Teachers on Psychology and the Students on Some of Life’s Ideals”　ａｎｄ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｅｓｓａｙｓ. The lectures to teachers have some interesting comments on teaching in what we would now call a “child-centered” way, by understanding how children learn. Ultimately, he is still part of the effort to dispense learning most effectively to children, rather than encourage children to teach themselves and facilitate autonomous learning (what we might now call “unschooling.”) His lectures to “students” (really college students) covered his views on the meaning of life, the poverty of intellectual absolutism, the need for diversity of perspectives in ideas, and the necessity of the relaxation of the tensions of modern American society (he points out the problem of moral anxiety as particularly acute).

With this, I will move on from William James, with the promise to explore his later writings later in this blog.

William James, “Psychology: A Briefer Course”, Part Two

This is a continuation of my previous post on James’ psychology textbook, which was a condensed version of The Principles of Psychology.  As we saw, James’ moves us from the biological foundations of the mind and the senses (mostly common to all of us) to our individualized conception of “the self.”  The second half of the book, collected in the Library of America’s volume of James’ early writings, covers specific ways that this “self” interacts with the world through conception of the external world, association, memory, imagination, space, time, emotion, reason, instinct and will.  I suspect the most interesting question in psychology for libertarians is to what degree is liberty of will possible.  This is a question currently being discussed by neuroscientists.  The familiarity of James’ musings on free will, comes from my relatively brief exposure to some of these current debates, which seem to suggest free will as we normally understand it is an illusion, even if not entirely morally irrelevant.  James presents some skepticism about free will, but more or less rejects its relevance, because of the crucial nature of action.  We have already seen that James presents action as the key to habit formation (or breaking).  It is here there there is hope for freedom.  “The world thus finds in the heroic man its worthy match and mate; and the effort which he is able to put forth to hold himself erect and keep his heart unshaken is the direct measure of his worth and function in the game of human life.  He can stand this Universe. . . . He forms a part of human destiny. . . . Thus not only our morality but our religion, so far as the latter is deliberate, depend on the effort which we can make.  “Will you or won’t you have it so?” is the most probing question we are ever asked; we are asked it every hour of the day, and about the largest as well as the smallest, the most theoretical as well as the most practical, things.  We answer by consents or non-consents and not by words.  What wonder that these dumb responses should seem our deepest organs of communication with the nature of things!  What wonder if the effort demanded by them be the measure of our worth as men!  What wonder if the amount which we accord of it were the one strictly underived and original contribution which we make to the world!.” (425–426)

As we go through the text with an eye to the question of action and will, we see the centrality of the material world, our interaction with it, and willingness to transform it to shape our will (and in doing so shaping our mental conception of the world).  Even pure reason (if even possible) is bound by this. “All consciousness is motor.  The reader will not have forgotten, in the jungle of purely inward processes and products through which the last chapters have born him, that the final result of them all must be some form of bodily activity.”  (347)  Even pure imagination is a product of experience and action.  A blind person cannot imagine color.  In the same way, we cannot imagine alternatives to the world we have without making them to some degree realized.  (The frustration of reading science fiction is that the authors rarely can envision economic, social, or political systems that do not have parallels to the world around us.)

So, yes, if we accept James’ position, we find that we are bound by the physicality of our experiences and physical construct.  Our capacity for imagination, free-will, and reason are inexorably bound.  This may frustrate those who seek liberty of thought and action.  Our solution is to act and through action, our will can be actualized.  In the process we may be surprised at what we create, do, think, or envision.

I was reading the chronology of James’ life.  Every volume of the Library of America has an author’s bio in the form of a chronology.  William and Henry had a brother named Robert (Bob).  William James seems to have spend a bit of time keeping track of Bob, occasionally trying to set him straight.  Once Bob was running a cotton plantation in Florida, later he took a job in Iowa as a railroad clerk.  He was an amateur painter, worked as a curator of a Milwaukee museum.  A few years later William has to drag Bob from his drunken stupor in Milwaukee, where he can dry him out in Boston.  A wanderer with a soft-spot for Milwaukee will always warm my heart.
It seems to me that Bob James is worthy of a biographer, or that at least the three brothers show up in a television comedy (My Three James?)


©2016 by anime sticker shop.

Theme songs
Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta MonoAoi Shiori

CastAi KayanoHaruka TomatsuSaori HayamiMiyu Irinomore

Genres: Visual novel, Drama, Romance Film, Supernatural, Tragedy

            A group of six sixth-grade-age[1] childhood friends drift apart after one of them, Meiko "Menma" Honma, dies in an accident. Years[2] after the incident, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi, has withdrawn from society, does not attend high school,[3] and lives as a recluse. One summer day, the ghost of an older-looking Menma appears beside him and asks to have a wish granted, reasoning that she cannot pass on into the afterlife until it is fulfilled. At first, he only tries to help her minimally because he thinks he is hallucinating. But since Menma does not remember what her wish is, Jinta gathers his estranged friends together once again, believing that they are the key to resolving this problem. All of the group join him, though most of them do so reluctantly.

          However, things grow increasingly complicated when his friends accuse him of not being able to get over the death of Menma, for Jinta is the only one who can see Menma's ghost and his friends think he is seeing things. But as matters progress, it is realized that Jinta is not the only person in the group who is having trouble letting go of the past. It is revealed that all of the group members blame themselves for Menma's death and long-hidden feelings are rekindled. The group struggles as they grow from trying to help Menma move on and help each other move on as well.


A minor piano chord - Am

The A minor chord is a 3-note chord consisting of the notes A, C and E.
You can see these notes highlighted in the interactive piano chart below.
The chord itself is often abbreviated as Am.

Interactive piano diagram for the A minor chord

Piano keyboard displaying the A minor chord with the notes A, C, E A B# C Fb E

A minor piano chord chart image

In case you prefer a non-interactive variant of the chord chart, we've embedded a PNG image below that shows the notes for the the Am chord. Feel free to save or share the image as needed.

Piano chord chart for the A minor chord (Am). The notes A, C and E are highlighted.


‘Emotionless’ foster mom left toddler boy to die in hot car while she worked all day: Police

A North Carolina woman has been criminally charged days after she allegedly left her 1-year-old foster child in a hot car at a shopping center, resulting in his death.

Dawn Aberson-Vanden Broecke, 42, is facing involuntary manslaughter charges for the toddler’s August 29 death. Citing her arrest warrant, WBTV reported that Broecke works at an office near the Lowe’s parking lot in Pineville and was leaving to pick him up from daycare when she realized he’d been in the car since that morning.

Despite life-saving efforts, the boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police wrote that during questioning, Broecke “was standing there and appeared emotionless (she was standing there calm, did not appear upset or otherwise in distress).”

Broecke reportedly told officers that she knew the boy was possibly dead when she checked on him that afternoon.

Broecke also said the 1-year-old is the youngest of her five foster children and that he had been in her care for roughly six months, according to WBTV.

Broecke turned herself in on Wednesday, a day after officials announced the toddler’s confirmed cause of death was hyperthermia due to environmental exposure. WSOC reported that temperatures were in the 80s on the day the boy was found in the car.

While it’s unclear exactly how long the toddler was left in the car, investigators said it was for “a prolonged period,” according to the news station.

Broecke was said to be cooperating with authorities in their investigation.

[Featured image: Dawn Aberson-Vanden Broecke/Pineville Police Department]


Why infrared thermal imaging devices make sense for electricians

20th January 2020
Alex Lynn

Heat is a byproduct of operating any sized electrical circuit. Most problems in electrical systems display themselves in terms of heat. Electricians must be able to classify a circuit as normal when the load is on or identify when it is abnormal and identify the issues that presents – finding hot spots that need attention.

By John H. Waggoner, Senior Instructor, FLIR Infrared Training Center

In recent years, new infrared thermography– also called thermal imaging – has come on the market. The non-contact method includes cameras that help electricians and service technicians find and solve problems quicker and more safely. The newest cameras combine both thermal imaging and electrical measurement features in one inspection, troubleshooting, and diagnostic tool that speeds up the process and provides much better information on which to base repair work.

Methods for inspecting and analysing electrical systems

In the past, the only way electricians had to inspect and analyse electrical systems was with hands on testing – usually done after turning off the power to make sure it was electrically safe. Electricians typically go in with testing equipment and tools to connect test leads to determine if there are any issues. Many used contact measurement techniques featuring thermocouples, which produce a temperature-dependent voltage that can be interpreted to measure heat.

With these traditional inspection and maintenance methods, electrician cannot see all the possible issues, but instead must rely on guesswork, checking out connections one by one. This method does not guarantee that heat-related conditions will be solved, because turning off the power removes the load. One can measure if a circuit is overloaded, but when the power is off it is not always possible to know for sure if the problem in the circuit was fixed.

In recent years, electricians also began using spot radiometers: small hand-held non-contact devices that can be pointed at a target to obtain a temperature measurement. Radiometers provide acceptable measurements within certain limits, but no visual imagery is available.

A step up from direct measurement and spot radiometry is thermal imaging, which detects infrared energy emitted from an object, converts it to temperature, and displays an image of temperature distribution, called a thermogram. Since infrared radiation is emitted by all objects with a temperature above absolute zero, thermography makes it possible to see the environment with or without visible illumination.

Thermal imaging provides electricians with a far higher ability to analyse, recommend, and diagnose. With thermal imaging, one can use a camera on a circuit breaker to determine if connections are loose, if there is too great a load on the breaker, and if there are any issues with the breaker contacts. Electricians can find the problem, fix it, then go back with the thermal camera and take an image to verify that the work done has actually solved the problem. In the past, it was very difficult to assure customers that work done had really fixed the problem. Now electricians frequently provide their customers with ‘before’ and ‘after’ imagery.

A wide range of electrical equipment can be inspected with thermal imagers, including transformers, switchgear components, breakers, fused disconnects, non-fused disconnects, conductors, terminations, contactors, control wiring terminations, buss duct (open and enclosed), distribution and branch circuit breaker panels, and motors.

Benefits and advantages of thermal imaging

In effect, thermal imaging allows electricians and electrical technicians to picture heat that the eyes cannot see. This has three main benefits. First, it is a non-contact approach, so electricians do not have to actually touch electrical equipment to determine if the heat is within normal operating temperatures or has moved into abnormal temperatures.

Second, electricians can use thermal cameras as a visual tool to demonstrate to customers the severity of electrical problems. Infrared cameras produce an image of a target that is similar to visual photographs. Many also produce a visual image that can be placed next to the thermal image for a side-by-side comparison. This helps the electrician show customers the exact location and nature of potential faults.

The third benefit is that thermal imaging can be performed in real time. Over the past decade, video-capture technology for infrared cameras has greatly improved. This allows electricians to observe and analyse electrical equipment as it heats up and begins to operate, as it operates under normal conditions over time, and as the target cools down.

There is also the ability to watch fast-moving targets, as the recording speed, or frames-per-second (FPS), has improved. Cameras that record at higher frame rates allow the user to observe targets that are changing temperature rapidly, or those that are moving very fast. The equipment now allows us to see that fast transition of temperatures or fast transition of the targets.

Key application areas for thermal imaging

Thermal imaging is used in three general application areas. Utilities rely on it extensively for medium and high voltage equipment (overhead lines and connections), and for substation equipment (breakers, switches, transformers, capacitors, and voltage regulators), to name a few.

Thermal imaging is also used for voltages below 1000 volts, largely for enclosed equipment that supports industrial and commercial operations.

The third category, the newest level of application, is the residential market. Home inspectors and electrical service and HVAC service companies have started to purchase and use thermography for troubleshooting and inspection of residential electrical systems. The growth in this market is due to IR cameras becoming more affordable over the past decade.

Thermal imaging equipment available to electricians

There is a wide range of thermography equipment for electricians, varying from low resolution cameras costing $400 to high resolution cameras costing more than $40,000. The difference among thermal imaging resolutions affects how close one needs to stand to image a target, and the different accessories available for viewing and adjusting the camera and measuring temperature.

At the low end, one can simply select an attachment to a smartphone (both iOS and Android), For example, the FLIR ONE Pro is a device containing an 80 x 60 pixel resolution Lepton long wavelength infrared (LWIR) camera.

Higher-end thermal imaging technology, such as the FLIR T1K, can produce up to 1024 x 768 pixel images. Dynamic focus control, continuous autofocus, and a user-friendly interface with an ergonomic design and rotating optical block make it easier to do numerous inspections in one day and to scan at difficult angles.

Another option that has recently come on the market are meters that combine thermal imaging with electrical measurement features in one inspection, troubleshooting, and diagnostic tool. These new meters can take voltage, current, and millivolt drop measurements while also taking an infrared image with the same device. This offers more information for an electrician or technician to make a determination, provides images to confirm the electrician’s diagnosis, and offers proof showing where the problems are.

Combining several tools into one reduces the total amount of time it takes to diagnose issues and increases a technician’s speed. It also makes the technician more skillful at troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance work.

One example is the FLIR DM285, which offers 18 measurement functions, including true-RMS (root-mean square), LoZ (low impedance), and non-contact voltage (NCV). This device also includes a thermocouple input and allows users to view thermal and electrical measurements simultaneously. The combined meter uses IGM (infrared guided measurement) thermal imaging technology to visually guide users to the precise location of a problem.

Thermal imaging solves real problems

Thermal imaging has been used all over the world to diagnose and solve electrical system problems. The accompanying image shows a large junction box where one conductor was hotter than the eight others. Using the thermal imaging camera, technicians located it not in the box, but 150 feet back. It would not have been possible to locate this serious issue any other way.

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An 11-year-old boy has died after he became stuck in a lift and allegedly being dropped down the shaft by a security guard who was trying to save him.

The accident took place in an apartment block in the Colombian capital of Kennedy after Brahaman Jhusep Guevara Pabon and another child had entered the lift.

Local media have reported the lift became stuck between the seventh and eights floors.

A security guard who works in the building reportedly went to help the children and managed to save the first child.

However, Brahaman’s mother Luz Marina Pabon claims that when the security guard went to lift her son to safety he dropped the child, who fell down the shaft.

“The lift was in the middle of the seventh and the eighth floor and the guard did not know what to do,” she said.

“He opened the door and used his left hand to hold it and the other to hold the boy.

“He could not grab my son well and he let him fall.

“He fell and the impact was so strong that his organs were all damaged.”

Brahaman was taken to hospital but doctors could not save his life.


Mrs Bedford’s Jam

Branding / Packaging

Cardiff Design Festival
Best Welsh Packaging design

Inspired by the epicurean pleasures of Victorian afternoon tea, the French producers wanted to utilize only the finest ingredients and authentic, traditional cooking methods to produce this luxurious product.

We used a monochrome palette on the label to contrast with the rich tones that emanate from the jams with dramatic effect. This palette is echoed on the lid using detailed Victorian floral motifs.


Video: Converting Pounds and Ounces

How many 12-ounce bags of nuts can be filled from a 3-pound one?

Video Transcript

How many 12-ounce bags of nuts can be filled from a three-pound one?

In this problem, we have two measurements of maths. We have a three-pound bag of nuts. Let’s represent this amount by drawing this bar. And then we’ve got some smaller bags that are measured in a different unit of measurements. These are 12-ounce bags. And we need to calculate how many of these 12-ounce bags can we fill from a three-pound bag. In other words, how many lots of 12 ounces are there in three pounds? As we’ve said already, the two units of measurement that we’re dealing with are different. So it would help us to begin with, to think about how many ounces there are in one pound. And perhaps, we could use this to help. One pound is worth 16 ounces.

So let’s alter our bar model slightly. Each of the pounds that make up three pounds is worth 16 ounces. So we can label our three parts as 16 ounces. Now, there’s more than one way we can find the answer to this question. We could calculate the answer. First, we could multiply 16 by three. This would give us the number of ounces that there are in three pounds. And then we could divide this amount, whatever it is, by 12. And this would give us the number of 12-ounce bags we could get from three pounds. Perhaps, this is a method you’d like to try yourself. But there’s actually a quicker method when you use reasoning to help us.

We started of by drawing a bar model. So let’s continue to use this bar model and think about what it means. And this will help us answer the question. Firstly, we can see that each pound, and there are three of them, is worth 16 ounces. Now, the first thing we can say is that 12 ounces is less than 16 ounces. So we can definitely say that we can fill three 12-ounce bags of nuts because 12 fits into 16 with a bit of a remainder. Now, what is each one of these shaded parts worth? 16 take away 12 leaves us with four. So each of the shaded parts of our bar model is worth four ounces, and we have three of them. And what’s three times four worth? It’s worth 12 ounces in total. That’s another bag of nuts.

So we’ve used our bar model to help us solve the problem. One pound is worth 16 ounces. And in three pounds, we have three lots of 16 ounces. In each lot of 16 ounces, we can definitely fill one 12-ounce bag. And we have four ounces spare. And if we add up the three lots of four ounces spare, that makes another lot of 12 ounces, which will fill another 12-ounce bag of nuts. The number of 12-ounce bags of nuts that could be filled from a three-pound one is four. The answer to the problem is four bags.


press on

listen to the pronunciation of press on
الإنجليزية - التركية
(deyim) çaba harcamaya devam etmek
devam etmek
presle basarak geçirmek
الإنجليزية - الإنجليزية
to persist, continue to advance
If you press on, you continue with a journey, even though it is becoming more difficult or more dangerous. I considered turning back, but it was getting late, so I pressed on. = keep going
continue moving forward
If you press on or press ahead, you continue with a task or activity in a determined way, and do not allow any problems or difficulties to delay you. Organizers of the strike are determined to press on Poland pressed on with economic reform
press on

    Press on

    التركية النطق

    pres ôn

    /ˈpres ˈôn/ /ˈprɛs ˈɔːn/

    علم أصول الكلمات

    [ 'pres ] (noun.) 13th century. Middle English presse, from Old French, from presser to press.

    كلمة اليوم


Brexit commentary |

Trade and customs white papers: the unanswered questions

The UK government has published two new White Papers dealing with post-Brexit trade and customs respectively. Whilst they contain some new material, they are perhaps more remarkable for what they don't say than what they do.

The trade white paper confirms that after Brexit, the UK aims to take back control of trade policy from the EU, including trade defence measures (and will legislate to do so).  The recent imposition of tariffs on aircraft manufacturer Bombardier is an example of trade defence measures taken by the US government against what it perceives to be unfair subsidies under WTO rules – and one that highlights how controversial they can be.  The UK proposes to set up a new independent body to investigate such matters – but it is likely to be extremely challenging to have a new regulator in place by March 2019 (in case of a "no deal" Brexit).  Meanwhile, the paper has relatively little to say on the following issues, which will be key to minimising the disruptive impact of Brexit on trade:

  • Existing free trade agreements The paper acknowledges that the UK currently benefits from a significant number of trade agreements with third countries which have been negotiated by the EU – but it does not explain how the UK can retain the benefits of these agreements after Brexit.  In our view, this is likely to depend on those third countries being prepared to agree to continue with existing arrangements – but since they originally negotiated them with the EU, which represents a far larger market than the UK on its own, some may well demand more advantageous terms.  Even if the UK secures a transitional agreement where it has formally left the EU but most of the current EU-UK trading arrangements remain the same for a period, it is far from clear that this would secure the continuation of agreements with third countries, potentially leading to trade with those countries falling back onto WTO terms.

  • WTO tariff quotas:  Nor does the paper give any insight into how the government proposes that EU-wide WTO tariff quotas (which are particularly relevant for agricultural produce) should be dealt with on Brexit.  A letter from the WTO Ambassadors of 7 countries – including the US, Canada, Brazil and New Zealand – suggests that they are unhappy about joint EU/UK proposals to simply apportion the existing quotas between them, which could have adverse implications for the UK's ability to rely on WTO rules in the event of a "no deal" Brexit.

The customs white paper does not add much to DEXEU's previous proposals on this issue, which we commented on here.  However, it does explicitly discuss the possibility of a "no deal" scenario, which would involve the re-introduction of customs controls at the end of March 2019, leaving both government and business very little time to prepare.  The focus of the paper is on legislating to allow the government to levy customs duties in its own right (rather than on behalf of the EU as at present) - but legislation on its own will not be enough.  For example:

  • Essential practical measures:  HMRC will need additional staff and computer systems to process an expected 300% increase in customs notifications and physical infrastructure at or near major ports such as Dover will have to be modified to allow for significantly more inspections to be carried out, particularly in relation to products such as foodstuffs.  It is very difficult to see how all these practical measures can realistically be put in place by March 2019.

  • Third countries:  Nor is the problem necessarily confined to trade with the EU.  The paper does not explain how, after Brexit, the UK will secure the continuation of important customs cooperation arrangements which the EU has negotiated with third countries such as the US and China, which are designed specifically to ease the passage of goods through customs.

Theresa May has insisted that the "ball is in the EU's court" and appears to be signalling that if there is no movement from the EU side, the UK will start preparing for a "no deal" Brexit in the New Year.  However, it is hard to draw much comfort from either of these papers as regards the likely readiness of the UK for a "no deal" Brexit in March 2019.  With no assurances as yet from the EU about the availability of transitional arrangements, our advice remains that clients should continue to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst (see our Brexit contingency planning checklist).

By way of example, if you are worried about the impact of sudden introduction of customs controls in a "no deal" Brexit scenario, bear in mind that not all ports are likely to be equally affected;  the highest risk of disruption is at ports such as Dover with a high proportion of EU-UK roll-on roll-off HGV traffic. It follows that some risks could be mitigated by looking at other routes for getting key products into the country (e.g short sea shipping) and/or turning to suppliers who rely on imports from outside the EU (which typically come into different ports, where the relevant customs infrastructure is well established and it is more likely to be "business as usual" in the event of a "no deal" Brexit).

The fifth round of Brexit talks concluded this week with no sign of a breakthrough.   A European Council meeting is due to take place on 19-20 October to decide whether "sufficient progress" has been made for talks to move onto matters such as trade.

For more background on the issues discussed above, see our Brexit Q&As on WTO rules, the UK's future trade relationship with the EU and Customs.


The Contrarian

Sunspot Cycle at a Low, Impending Cool Down Period on Earth

Last year we wrote in our WELLINGTON LETTER about the fact that sunspots had shifted towards a “solar minimum” for several years, according to NASA. Historically, this has led to reduced crops, rising prices, famines and social strife.

This cooling could last up to 70 years, according to historical precedents. If science is correct, the theory of “global warming” will have to be put on ice.

Reading the article below and many others, temperature changes on the earth are logically due to the sun’s heat, not the SUV in your garage. And the heat output goes in cycles.

We wrote several years ago, that spending billions of dollars on fighting so-called “global warming” according to the Paris Accord was a waste of resources unless there was a way to reduce the sun’s energy output. That of course is beyond the ability of science, at least on this planet. Read the article below.

Experts continue to warn that this is a sign that the solar minimum is on its way. “The sun is spotless again. For the 133rd day this year, the face of the sun is blank,” wrote the website Space Weather. “Solar minimum has returned, bringing extra cosmic rays, long-lasting holes in the sun’s atmosphere, and strangely pink auroras,” the website continued.

The sun follows a cycle of roughly 11 years where it reaches a solar maximum and then a solar minimum. During a solar maximum, the sun gives off more heat and solar particles and is littered with sunspots. Less heat in a solar minimum is due to a decrease in the sun’s magnetic waves.

“Low solar activity is known to have consequences on Earth’s weather and climate and it also is well correlated with an increase in cosmic rays that reach the upper part of the atmosphere. The blank sun is a sign that the next solar minimum is approaching and there will be an increasing number of spotless days over the next few years,” wrote a meteorological website called Vencore Weather.

This data suggests that the Earth’s temperature will cool down before it heats up. The sun’s effect on our planet is lower than it was in the past, meaning that you should get ready to bundle up in the coming years.


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Available in the following format:

There are quite a lot of materials out there for studying for Project Management exams. This study guide is focused upon the Project Management Body of Knowledge Version 5 (PMBOK v5). It is not intended as a replacement for reading and understanding the Body of Knowledge. This guide is to help make certain processes easier to ingest and memorize for the exam. In these pages I provide visuals, worksheets, process flow maps, and the tweet that brings everything together in 144 characters. Again be warned, this guide is to be used to bring all of your studying and knowledge together to give you the edge you need to pass your exam.


Sunlight Foundation

Citizens United: Rhode Island's response

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case has rendered 24 states' election laws unconstitutional. The 5-4 ruling in favor of Citizens United reversed a provision of the McCain-Feingold act that prohibited any electioneering communication—defined as advertising via broadcast, cable or satellite that is paid for by corporations or labor unions. Many states have acted fast to counter corporations’ ability to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections by passing laws that force disclosure of all independent expenditures in near real time. The Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group has decided to report what each of these states is doing to respond to the highly-contested ruling. Today we're looking at Rhode Island:

State: Rhode Island

Bill: Rules and Regulations on Reporting Requirements for Coordinated and Independent Expenditures

Passed: Yes

Rhode Island hasn't repealed the laws it has on the books prohibiting independent expenditures. The state's Board of Elections has instead passed a new regulation that satisfies the Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations to influence races using their own money.

Like all states tasked with altering state laws in the wake of the Citizens United decision, Rhode Island is forcing certain elements of the transaction be disclosed to the public. Forms containing information regarding who paid for the expenditure and who directs control over payment of the expenditure (e.g. a corporation's CEO) must be filed with the Secretary of State's office. Funders of a company or a nonprofit may have to be disclosed if money was donated for the sole purpose of making independent expenditures.

The disclosure forms have to be filed electronically within seven days of the money being spent throughout the year, regardless of when an election is. This is important to note because some states have relaxed deadlines for reporting when money is spent outside of an election season. The Executive Director of the state's Board of Elections says all information should be available to the public within 24 hours of it being submitted.

Rhode Island's regulation also explicitly states that a reasonably visible and/or audible disclaimer must be included in print and electronic ads. Rhode Island references the Supreme Court case McConnell v the Federal Elections Commission to address the idea that disclaimers "burden the ability to speak." The McConnell case held that disclaimers don't  prevent anyone from speaking, hence they don't deter people from running ads.

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